This invention relates to the field of unpowered, portable vehicles used for personal support, and more particularly to the field of light weight rollable stools.
As used hereinafter in the description and claims, the phrases generally erect standing person, generally standing person, and person in a generally standing position shall all have the same meaning, namely: a person having a generally vertical torso and generally straightly disposed legs which may be slightly bent at the hips, knees, or ankles, or slightly bent in any combination thereof. This definition is deemed to include, but not be limited to, a person in a slight crouch, a person standing with legs slightly or substantially apart, and a person whose legs extend predominantly downwardly while projecting slightly forwardly of said person, irrespective of whether the feet of said person are substantially together or apart.
At present, there is a need in personal residences, offices, hospitals, and factories for a light weight rollable stool which will substantially support a generally standing person seated or rolling about thereon, and which will provide generous clearance for the legs of such a person.
Persons needing such a stool include those who are unable to stand or move about for any length of time without substantial support. Persons who might well desire such a stool include: those who must presently work in a standing position, but could work while resting on a stool in a generally standing position provided the stool gave them mobility and did not unduly restrict their work range; and those who desire a very easily moved stool which cooperates with their own legs to provide them with greater stability than a conventional stool while they are resting on the stool in a generally standing position.
Other inventors have devised a variety of personal vehicles for a number of special purposes where the person seated thereon self-propelledly rolls about. These vehicles range from children's tricycles, to steerable vehicles for semi-ambulatory medical patients, to collapsible vehicles for invalids with hand-operated steering and brake means. As useful as these inventions are for their particular purposes, they do not meet the needs of a generally standing person who wishes to rest on a stool while performing some sort of task or useful work, and who also wishes to be simultaneously relatively mobile and unrestricted in his range of movement.
The basic object of this invention is to provide a rollable stool adapted for substantially supporting a generally standing person resting thereon and rolling about while remaining thereon.
Another object of this invention is to provide a rollable stool fulfilling the basic object of this invention that does not require the use of handlebars or other members that need to be manually grasped for support or balance.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a rollable stool fulfilling the basic objective which also enables a person resting thereon to position himself close enough to a kitchen counter, workbench, or other work area that has a generally vertically arranged face to comfortably perform many of the typical tasks found at such a work station.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a rollable stool fulfilling the basic objective while presenting generous clearance for the movement of the legs of the person on the stool.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.